Bucketheads Spring into Being

In 2013 my work took a turn quite naturally. While preparing for a November wood firing, I began painting on a leatherhard tumbler and a robotic character gazing at a weta came into focus. My imagination went into overdrive and The Buckethead Story took off.

There are references to the Dragon Steam Well Steam Works series in The Buckethead Story line. Industrial motifs still predominate. Using black underglaze enhanced with mason stain, I painted two-dimensional objects such as gauges and pipes, as well as Bucketheads, on my functional pots. All of the stoneware pots in this series were wheel-thrown and wood-fired.

As the story took shape in my mind, the Bucketheads split into two groups: one good and the other evil. They began to exhibit behaviors aligned with their character.  Furthermore, I clarified this was a post-apocalyptic fable in which humans have been extinct for a long time.